One Wiener Werkstätte, Hold the Mustard

There are just three days left, for those in and near Miami Beach, to see the superb exhibition of artists’ postcards by the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshop) from 1907 to 1919 at the WolfsonianFIU in Miami Florida. The exhibition closes on March 31.

Weiner Werkstätte was the legendary cooperative for artists and artisans founded in 1903 by two members of the Vienna Secession, architect Josef Hoffmann and designer Koloman Moser. The Wiener Werkstätte was an early example of design entrepreneurship. They produced beautiful hand and machine crafted products that blurred the lines between high and low art.

Moritz Jung

These postcards selected from the Leonard Lauder Collection organized by the Neue Galerie New York, were among the Wiener Werkstätte’s most profitable items. Designers included such names as Hoffmann, Oskar Kokoschka, Dagobert Peche, and Egon Schiele and women artists, including Mela Koehler and Maria Likarz. These artists produced a variety of thematic cards that bring to life the rich social fabric of turn-of-the-century Vienna-cafés, architecture, fashion, urban types, and humor—and represent an important element in the overall program of the Wiener Werkstätte. The Wolfsonian complements this selection of postcards with Wiener Werkstätte textiles, decorative arts, and printed materials from its collection framed by a brilliantly designed exhibit.

If after viewing the cards on display you have the urge to make your own, blank cards are available in the exhibit’s playroom.

About Steven Heller

Steven Heller is the co-chair of the SVA MFA Designer /Designer as Author + Entrepreneur program, writes frequently for Wired and Design Observer. He is also the author of over 170 books on design and visual culture. He received the 1999 AIGA Medal and is the 2011 recipient of the Smithsonian National Design Award.